Charging hopper and door mechanism for rotary-drum mixers



9 1948- E. JOSEPH 2,447,413

CHARGING HOPPER AND DOOR MECHANISM FOR ROTARY-DRUM MIXERS Filed April 8,1946 5 Sheets-Sheet l 2 12 v/q/mi III/m,

INVENTOR Aawrencefidoseph L. E. JOSEPH CHARGING HOPPER AND DOORMECHANISM FOR ROTARY-DRUM MIXERS Aug. 17, 1948.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 8, 1946 I NV E N T O R A aM/rence .6 dose2h Aug. 17, 1948. E. JOSEPH 2,447,413

CHARGING HOPPER AND DOOR MECHANISM FOR RQTARY-DRUM MIXERS Filed April 8,1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR lan/reflcefdoseph Aug. 17, 1948. L, E,JOSEPH 2,447,413

CHARGING HOPPER AND DOOR HANISM FOR ROTARY-DRUM MIX 7 Filed April 8,1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 g W43 L.. E. JOSEPH v 2,447,413

CHARGING HOPPER AND DOOR MECHANISM FOR ROTARY-DRUM MIXERS Filed April 8,1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 96 F o a I g I 45 38 Q 57 INVENTOR lahkreflaidosepfi Patented Aug. 17, 1948 CHARGING norrnn noon MECHA- msMJmR'norRY-DnUMi/nxmzs Lawrence E. Joseph, 'Fox Chapel Borough, 'Alleghen'y'County, Pa, assignorto Blow-Knox Gompa'ny, Pittsburgh,Ba.,xa:corporation of New Jersey np ucsnonnmirs,1946; se isi decries-9"Bhi's invention "relates "to apparatus f or charging maiteria ls, suchas cement, sand and aggregate, into the open end of a rotary mixer drumandciosing said end while the materials are being mixed by notation oftheorem. The invention is particularly adapted to and will hespecifically described with reierence to -so-called mgh-rdischargeconcrete 'Inixe'rs which are usually truck mounted, but is alsoapplicable to other kinds of mixers embodying a rotating drum.

-iI=Iigh-riischarge imix'ers as constructed heretofoize' have usuallybeen provided with a charging hopper permanently mounted adjacent theopen end of the drum and shaving sliding contacttherewith so thehopper'anan be held stationary whilejthe 'drnm rotates. 'Thi-siconstruetion reduires-m'eansfor sealing ith'e joint between the hopperand' drum. Such sealing means have a relative short hie and aretroublesome to main-- tain. Ordinarily no closure is provided tio'r theopen end of the drum but a temporar cover is sometimes applied while the'truck is traveling. If the drum is :not provided with a charginghopper, -'the mixer must be backed "up under a stationary :hoppersupported helowith'e supply of materials. This-is obviously a slowoperation requiring carefiul maneuvering 56f the truck;

*1 have invented a :novel charging hopper and door mechanism vfor arotary mixer drum which overcomes the aforementioned disadvantagespermitting various materials to he introduced readily-and .in rapidsuccession, and providing a tight closure .for the open :end f thewithout sliding contact between the :closure and .In a preferredembodiment, =I provide supports extending outwardly from theirameinwhich :the mixer drum is journaled for rotation,

and .mount a (charging hopper on .said supports for movement from andtoward the open end of themlrum. l also provide-a closure-movable from a-,-position overlying the end of the "drum to an outn'f-the-way positionto permit the hopper to be moved into charging relation 430 the drum. Inone form of. the invention, the closure is mounted on the hopper andboth are rotatable as a unit between alternative positions, "in additionto being movable from;.and toward the drum. In another form, the closureis pivotedl-ior-an w lar movement relative to the hopper.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from thefollowing detailed description and explanation which refer to theaccompanyin drawings illustrating two preferred embodiments. In thedrawings, V

Figure'l is apartial side elevation of Lthe=oharging end of a mixerhaving the invention applied -7 Claims. :(01. zss ren.

I thereto with a portion brohen out and shown in section; v v I Figure 2is a similar View showing the hopper and door retracted, with -adifferent portion 1 brolsen outanil shown in section;

'F'igure 3 is a view similar toms-ore '2 showing the hopper in chargingrelation "to fihe dr-llml;

Figure a section taken along the plane oi? line -IVIV of :Figure 11';

Figure .5 is :a partial transverse section taken along the :p-l-ane ofline 'VV-:of Figure 1;;

' Figure :6 is :a view similar to Figure llishowing fa modification;

. Figure '7 is a view 01; the: modified form similarto. Figure 3;

Figure .8 isia SBGtiOn tBZkenJ-dmg the plane of line vfll-m offfigurn-ioyand Figure-9 is a partial transverse section taken.

along the plane of ilin-elIXAX of Figure 6.

"Refenrmgmow'fin detail to the drawings :and;

for the present, to Fv'rgures'i rthroug'h 5., amixer drum H3 isjournaled for notationiniasupporting frame 1:! with its axis inclinedupwardly. The frame H iirma-y mounted :a rtruok chassis andsuitablemeans are provided for rotating the drum to effiect "theJni-uing ofmaterial (charged into the drum. rFixedhlades are mounted interiouly' ofthe drum to assist the mixingaction. A cincularcharging :and dischargingopening l 2 ,at the upper "end of ethewdrumhas :22, flange or lip l3extending \therearound. The blades are arranged in the drum so that onreversal of the lattenthe contents of the drum are forcednpe wardly and."outwardly through the -.open end.

A yoke Id extends outwardlyrfromthevfrarne H in theplane through theaxis of the :drum. The yoke includesparallel side portions 15 secured tothe .sides of anarch it-6 extending upwardly aroundtheend of the-dr um.Theframe H and the yoke Mare-fabricated =frc-m suitablestructuralshapes,the yoke being secured to the arch Hiby g usset plates i1. Diagonalbraces t8 -extending from the frame to the yoke impart the desiredrigidity .tothe entire supporting structure.

.A charging hopper II 19 in the .form :of a tubularelibow iabricatedf-rom plate is :disposed between the side portions v.lii of the yoke1-4. Trunnions 20 are :secured .to' the hopper on opposite sides .and

extend therefrom along a common transverse axis. The ,trunnions arejournaled in bearing b1oks.2 l .andsextend through slots .22 in .theside portions J5.- fIhe blocks Illare s'lidable in slots extendinglongitudinally .of guidevbars 23 .-secured to .theside portions -.l 5.Double-actinghydriau'lic .motors '24 are Itrunm'oned in the .sideportions P5 of the yoke and outer'bearing plates 25 3 extendingtherefrom. The piston rods of the motors are secured to collars 2Gfitting on the extreme ends of the trunnions 20. The hydraulic motorsare supplied with fluid under pressure from any convenient source, underthe control of a single manually operable valve '(not shown). The valveis adapted to actuate both the motors simultaneously in the samedirection, whereby they act in unison to move the hopper away from theend 12 of the drum to the position shown in Figure 2 or return it to theposition shownin Figure l.

A closure or door 21 in the form of ,a dished circular plate is mountedon the hopper for engagement with the lip i3. The hopper has spacedslidable in an axial bore through the shaft 38 and is normally urgedinto locking position by a compression spring 44 positioned within anenlargement of the bore at the outer end of the shaft. The pin 43 has aknob 45 at the outer end thereof whereby the rod may lee-retracted whenit is desired to rotate the hopper. The hub 46 of the hand wheelconfines the spring and locking pin within the bore through the shaft38.

I For the sake of completeness, a full operating cycle includingcharging, mixing and discharging circumferential angles 28 securedthereto and a bearing block 29 is secured centrally therebetween bybolts 30. A bearing plug 3i is 'journaled in a bore through the block 29and has its exposed face concave. A bearing boss 32 in the form of aspherical segmentis secured centrally of the closure 21' and isyieldingly held a ainst the exposed face of the plug 3| bya through pin33 having a compression spring thereon. The end of the pin 33 on theinside of the closure and the compression spring are enclosed within acylindrical housing having a removable cover 34. As clearly shown inFigure 4, the pin extends through a central hole in the plug 3| andthrough a larger central hole in the boss 32. By this construction,theclosure is universally supported on the hopper for limited tiltingmovement in any direction. It is thus self-aiming and selfcentering sothat it automatically seats itself properly against the lip I3 when thehopper is moved to the position shown in Figure 1.

In addition, the closure is rotatable about its axis with the drum in byvirtue of the fact that the plug 3| is journaled in the block 29. Theclosure may thus be designed to fit tightly against the'lip I3 sincethere is no continued sliding movement therebetween. When the hopper andclosure have been retracted from the position shown in Figure 1 to theposition shown in Figure 2, the contents of the drum may be discharged,as previously stated, by reversing the direction of rotation thereof.The concrete, for example, after being mixed by rotation of the drum, isthus caused'to flow UP- wardly along the interior of the drum, outthrough the open end and down over the lip l3. A guide chute or spout 35supported on the frame ll delivers the outwardly flowing concrete into areceptacle positioned thereunder or to any point of delivery accessibleto a truck.

'In order to place 'thehopper into charging position vrelative to thedrum, it must first be rotated counterclockwise through an angle ofabout 120 from that in which it is shown in Figure 2 and then advancedto the position shown in Figure 3. For the purpose of rotating thehopper, one of the trunnions' has a gear 36 keyed thereto as shown inFigure 5. The gear is turned by means of a pinion 31 keyed to a hollowshaft 38 having a hand wheel 39 keyed thereon. The shaft 38 turns in abearing sleeve 40. The sleeve 40 extends outwardly from a post 4|extending upwardly from one of the bearing blocks 2 l g A disc 42secured to the trunnion 30 adjacent the gear 38 43, the holes being sopositioned as to aline with the pin in extreme positions of the hopper,i. e.,

those shown Figures 2 and 3. The pin. 43 is has holes spacedcircumferentially thereof adapted to accommodate a locking pinstageswill'now be described, Assuming that the drum lfl'has a charge ofmaterial therein to be mixed and the hopper and door are in thepositions' shown in Figure 1, mixing may be efiected by turning the drumin the proper direction. During the mixing operation, the closure 21turns with the drum and maintains tight-fitting engagement therewith toprevent leakage of the mixer contents. When the desired mixing periodhas elapsed, the drum I0 is stopped and the motors 24 are operated toretract the hopper and closure to the positions shown in Figure 2.Reverse rotation of the drum will then cause concrete to be dischargedfrom the end of the drum over the lip I 3 through spout 35 as indicatedby the arrow. When the mixer contents have been discharged, the drum isstopped and another batch of material may be charged thereinto bypulling out on the knob 45 of locking pin 43 and turning hand wheel 39to bring thehopperinto charging position. The motors 24 are thenoperated to cause the discharge end of the chute to enter the open endof the drum as shown in Figure 3.- The chute is then ready to receivematerial for delivery into the drum as shown by the arrow. It will beevident that, since the door or closure 21 is mounted (in the hopper, itautomatically swings to an out-of-the-Way position as the hopper isrotated into material-receiving position.

- After the succeeding batch of material has been charged into the drum,the motors 24 are then actuated to retract the hopper and the latter isrotated back to its original position, thus bringing the door into axialalinement with the drum. The door is brought into tight-sealingengagement with the drum by operating the motors to move the hoppertoward the drum. The locking pin 43 automatically enters one of theholes in the disc 42 when the hopper comes to either extreme of itsangular movement and thereafter maintains the hopper against rotationuntil the struction are designated by the same numerals; used indescribing the structure of Figures 1 through 5, with a prime ailixedthereto. The principal difierence between the construction alreadydescribed and that illustrated in Figures 6 through 9 is that the hopper19' of the latter does not rotate about a transverse axis and theclosure 21' is mounted independently of the hopper for swinging movementfrom a position overlying the end of the drum Ill to an out-of-thewayposition.

The trunnions or more properly the stub shafts 29' of the hopper l9 arekeyed to the bearing blocks 2| and are thus held against rotation. Thehopper is movable rectilinearly, however. from the position shown inFigure 6 to the position shown in Figure '7 by means of the motors 24'.The piston rodsof the motors are secured to links 49 extending forwardlyfrom the bearing blocks 2!. The door or closure 27' is rotatably mountedon a yoke 58 in the same manner as the door 27 is rotatably mounted onthe hopper 19. The yoke 50 is journaled on the shafts 20'. Gear 36' issecured to the yoke 59 for causing angular movement thereof to swing thedoor from closed position to out-of-the-way position. It will beunderstood that slight retraction of the blocks 2 I will be necessary topermit the door to clear the lip I 3 before the yoke can be swung aboutthe shafts 20'. When the door has been swung to an out-of-the-wayposition, as indicated in Figure 7, the hopper l9 may be advanced by themotors 24 into charging relation to the drum in. The door 21', ofcourse, moves rectilinearly with the hopper but is angularly movableindependent of the hopper.

As shown in Figure 9, the mechanism for rotating the yoke 59 issubstantially the same as that shown in Figure 5, the only differencebeing that the disc 42 having holes cooperating with the locking pin 43is secured to the yoke 50 for angular movement therewith, instead of tothe hopper.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the invention ischaracterized by numerous advantages over means available heretofore forcharging batches of material into a mixer. In the first place, thehopper is mounted on the frame which supports the drum for rotation andmay easily be placed in operative relation thereto. Second- 1y, atight-fitting closure is provided for the open end of the drum androtatable therewith so that sliding contact and the necessity forsealing are eliminated. In addition, the door is self-centering. In theform of the invention first described, the door and hopper havesimultaneous angular movement so that the door is swung out of the wayas the hopper is moved into charging position. In the modified form, thedoor only is mounted for swinging movement. In either case, means areprovided whereby the desired angular movement may be easily effected bymanual effort. On the other hand, the rectilinear movement of the hopperin both cases is effected by power means. In both forms of theinvention, the construction is relatively simple, requiring little or nomaintenance, and does not add materially to the cost of the mixer.

Although I have illustrated and described but two preferred embodimentsof my invention, it will be recognized that changes in the details ofconstruction disclosed may be made without departing from the spirit ofthe invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A charging and discharging mechanism for a mixer including a. frameand a drum rotatable therein having an opening at one end, saidmechanism comprising spaced supports extending from said frame adjacentsaid end, blocks slidable along said supports, a charging hopperdisposed between said supports, shafts extending coaxially from saidhopper and seated in said blocks, a closure for said end and meansmounting said closure for swinging movement about the axis of saidshafts.

2. A charging and discharging mechanism for a mixer as defined by claim1 characterized by said closure being mounted on the hopper and saidhopper rotating with the closure.

3. A charging and discharging mechanism for a. mixer as defined by claim1 characterized by said hopper being non-rotatable.

4. A charging and discharging mechanism for a mixer as defined by claim1 characterized by means for actuating said blocks along said supports.

5. A charging and discharging mechanism for a mixer including a frameand a drum rotatable therein having an opening at one end, saidmechanism comprising spaced supports extending from said frame adj acentsaid end, bearing blocks slidable along said supports, a charging hopperdisposed between said supports, trunnions on said hopper journaled insaid blocks and a closure for said end carried on said hopper.

6. A charging and discharging mechanism for a mixer including a frameand a drum rotatable therein having an opening at one end, saidmechanism comprising spaced supports extending from said frame adjacentsaid end, blocks slidable along said supports, a charging hopperdisposed between said supports, shafts extending coaxially from saidhopper and seated in said blocks, a closure for said end, a yokejournaled on said shafts and a closure for said end mounted on saidyoke.

7. A charging and discharging mechanism for a mixer as defined by claim1 characterized by hydraulic motors on said supports for actuating saidblocks.

LAWRENCE E. JOSEPH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

